Indie Rose Taurima loses fight with leukaemia

John Thistleton

Indie Rose, the two-year-old daughter of Olympic silver medallist Jai Taurima, has lost her battle with leukaemia.

Her Facebook page on Saturday said: "This morning at 12.30am Indie Rose Taurima grew her angel wings and went to heaven. She was lying in Mummy's arms pain free and slipped away in her sleep. Love you baby girl.''

Jen Smith and Jai Taurima with their daughter Indie Rose, who lost her battle with leukaemia on Saturday. Photo: Supplied

A post from earlier this month said: "We have been so blessed to have another week with our beautiful girl. She has become so fragile and sleeps for majority of the day.

"Her little body is tiny and is getting weaker each day. Our occupational therapist gave Indie a special chair to help support her body as she now prefers to sit up because her liver and spleen are very enlarged it's extremely uncomfortable to lay down.''

The man once known as "Jumping Jai", a pizza-eating, cigarette-smoking, bourbon-drinking, Superman-tattooed, long-jumping athlete in his prime, brought forward Indie Rose's third birthday from May 22, with help from nurses at Sydney's Westmead Children's Hospital who dressed up in crazy hats to fit the theme of her early celebration.

For most of the past three years they have been looking over her hospital bed, after Indie Rose was diagnosed with infant acute lymphoblastic leukaemia at just three months of age.

To donate blood, find details of the Australian Red Cross blood service at www.donateblood.com.au or ring 13 14 95.